[The Late night Edition]
Monday Morning Huddle
Week 7 in the NFL
TWO MINUTE BLITZ
A Tale of Two Teams...
When the Denver Broncos took the field on Sunday in week 6 at 4-1, they were on top of the AFC West and in complete control of the division. The Chargers at 2-3 would enter their Sunday night matchup with the defending AFC Champion Patriots, still reeling from their disappointing loss in Miami a week ago. When the day started it appeared these two teams were heading in very opposite directions. Following both games that these two teams played on Sunday, nothing could be more closer to the truth. What happened to the Broncos and the Chargers on Sunday was a complete role reversal. The Chargers played more like a 4-1 team disposing the AFC Champions in formidable fashion 30-10, while the Broncos were stampeded by the visiting Jaguars and looked more like a team searching for an identity.
The Broncos were ambushed from the start and didn't even see it coming; missed tackles, turnovers, and no sustained pressure on the opposing quarterback typified what has plagued the Broncos all season. At 4-1 there were questions as to whether this team was a contender or pretender. Against a struggling Jacksonville team trying to re-establish it's own identity as a contender in the AFC race, this Bronco team may have just been exposed. Unless the team starts filling holes in their make-shift defense (ranked 30th in total yards), they could soon find themselves looking in from the outside.
The Chargers on the other hand came out fast and furious striking quickly and decisively with the long ball. Led by quarterback Phillip Rivers and his 306 passing yards, the Chargers played like a team ready to reclaim what is rightfully theirs (A division title). The passing game was firing on all cylinders, while LT managed the ground game. The defense was ferocious making plays and constantly disrupting the Patriots passing game recording four sacks on the night. Now 3-3 and only one game behind the divisions leaders, all fingers will start pointing toward to the December 28th meeting against Denver, if the Broncos can hang on long enough to contend.
MONSTERS OF THE GRIDIRON
Week 6 saw some tremendous performances by some outstanding fantasy studs! There's little doubt if you had any of these Monsters on Sunday, you probably collected a big Win, but even if you didn't you had to applaud what these players did on the Gridiron!
MONSTER QB
Drew Brees (NO)....the Saints quarterback has been a terror against opposing defense and a coordinator's nightmare. He's off to one of the best starts passing of any NFL quarterback, similar to what Tom Brady did a year ago. On Sunday against the Oakland Raiders Drew Brees passed for over 300 yards for the 5th time this season. The Saints quarterback was nearly perfect throwing the ball as well, completing 26 of 30 passes (86.6% completion) on his way to 320 yards passing. Brees also tossed three more touchdowns, bringing his season total to 12.
MONSTER RB
Marion Barber (Dal)....the Cowboys came up a bit short on Sunday losing to the Cardinals on the road, but if not for the play of running back Marion Barber this one might not have been close. The Cowboys runner did not have the biggest ground game performance in week 6 with 17 carries for 45 yards, but his contribution to the passing game was huge. Barber snagged 11 passes out of the backfield and collected 128 receiving yards on the day, but it was his 70 catch and run for a score the was the big highlight of the day!
MONSTER WR/TE
Andre Johnson (Hou)....the Texans have had little to shout about this season with the team starting out 0-4, but in the past couple of weeks wide receiver Andre Johnson has been doing his best to give the fans something to cheer about. In week 5 Johnson finally scored his first touchdown of the season, and in Week 6 he did one better. The Texan's receiver single handedly kept his team's hopes alive for it's first win by pulling in 10 passes for 178 yards receiving. Johnson also added his second touchdown reception on the season in the Texan's come from behind win.
IN THE MIX
The Colt's took the time off during their bye week to work out the kinks and get the offense right again, or at least on Sunday it appeared that way. So far in the 2008 season, the talk of wide receiver Marvin Harrison has been of concern and wonder if the 36 year old has enough left in the tank. If he and Manning used the time off to get back in sync, the time was well spent and the results immediate. Against the Ravens in week 6, Harrison had his biggest day of the season, catching 3 passes for 83 yards. Two of Harrison's catches were for touchdowns, putting the Colt's sure handed receiver back in the mix!
Over in Houston the Texans registered the first win of the season, comeback style at the hands of the Dolphins and thanks in large part to quarterback Matt Schaub and wide receiver Andre Johnson. It was only in week 5, that Johnson finally scored his first touchdown and with Schaub falling ill and back up Rosenfels having to start, there was wonder if this change could soon be permanent. Well both players may have just put an emphatic end to those such rumors with their play last Sunday. Schaub, back behind center had the biggest passing day of all NFL quarterbacks with 379 yards (his 2nd straight 300 yd game), while Andre had a monster day catching the rock! As fantasy owners look ahead with both players, there's no question that these gridiron monsters are back in the mix!
In Minnesota, the talk this season has been the running game led by Adrian Peterson and the defense led by newly acquired (in the off-season) defensive end Jared Allen. With so much talk about the defense and running game, one may forget that the Vikings actually do line up a quarterback every Sunday. Another forgotten topic until recently was the acquisition of wide receiver Bernard Berrian, whose play over the past two weeks (11 receptions for 241 yards) has quickly reminded fans in the great lakes area why the Vikings picked him up. With Berrian and Frerotte quickly finding a comfort level the past couple of weeks, the Vikings wide out has quickly found himself fantasy relevant and back in the mix!
4TH QUARTER TIMEOUT
MONSTER RB
Marion Barber (Dal)....the Cowboys came up a bit short on Sunday losing to the Cardinals on the road, but if not for the play of running back Marion Barber this one might not have been close. The Cowboys runner did not have the biggest ground game performance in week 6 with 17 carries for 45 yards, but his contribution to the passing game was huge. Barber snagged 11 passes out of the backfield and collected 128 receiving yards on the day, but it was his 70 catch and run for a score the was the big highlight of the day!
MONSTER WR/TE
Andre Johnson (Hou)....the Texans have had little to shout about this season with the team starting out 0-4, but in the past couple of weeks wide receiver Andre Johnson has been doing his best to give the fans something to cheer about. In week 5 Johnson finally scored his first touchdown of the season, and in Week 6 he did one better. The Texan's receiver single handedly kept his team's hopes alive for it's first win by pulling in 10 passes for 178 yards receiving. Johnson also added his second touchdown reception on the season in the Texan's come from behind win.
IN THE MIX
The Colt's took the time off during their bye week to work out the kinks and get the offense right again, or at least on Sunday it appeared that way. So far in the 2008 season, the talk of wide receiver Marvin Harrison has been of concern and wonder if the 36 year old has enough left in the tank. If he and Manning used the time off to get back in sync, the time was well spent and the results immediate. Against the Ravens in week 6, Harrison had his biggest day of the season, catching 3 passes for 83 yards. Two of Harrison's catches were for touchdowns, putting the Colt's sure handed receiver back in the mix!
Over in Houston the Texans registered the first win of the season, comeback style at the hands of the Dolphins and thanks in large part to quarterback Matt Schaub and wide receiver Andre Johnson. It was only in week 5, that Johnson finally scored his first touchdown and with Schaub falling ill and back up Rosenfels having to start, there was wonder if this change could soon be permanent. Well both players may have just put an emphatic end to those such rumors with their play last Sunday. Schaub, back behind center had the biggest passing day of all NFL quarterbacks with 379 yards (his 2nd straight 300 yd game), while Andre had a monster day catching the rock! As fantasy owners look ahead with both players, there's no question that these gridiron monsters are back in the mix!
In Minnesota, the talk this season has been the running game led by Adrian Peterson and the defense led by newly acquired (in the off-season) defensive end Jared Allen. With so much talk about the defense and running game, one may forget that the Vikings actually do line up a quarterback every Sunday. Another forgotten topic until recently was the acquisition of wide receiver Bernard Berrian, whose play over the past two weeks (11 receptions for 241 yards) has quickly reminded fans in the great lakes area why the Vikings picked him up. With Berrian and Frerotte quickly finding a comfort level the past couple of weeks, the Vikings wide out has quickly found himself fantasy relevant and back in the mix!
4TH QUARTER TIMEOUT
With less than 2 minutes left the game on the line, trailing and time winding down, we need a timeout. Faced with a fourth down situation and a field goal no good here, just one play to call there's only one chance to win this thing. That's what the Texan's Head Coach Gary Kubiak and quarterback Matt Schaub faced on Sunday, trailing the Miami Dolphins with 7 seconds left on the clock. With the ball spotted on the three yard line, this was a situation that Schaub was not too familiar with, but not one that his head coach had not seen many times in his long and distinguished career.
Sure Kubiak was a former player, now turned coach. And yes he was a former quarterback in his playing days, but this was a situation that most would think as a former player he might turn to his personal experience for direction. But one thing to remember about Kubiak, beyond his playing days, he spent many seasons on the Denver sidelines as the Broncos offensive coordinator calling plays for one John Elway. There's no question that no one should ever confuse Matt Schaub with John Elway, but needing only three yards if you are standing on the other side of the field, you better not forget who Gary Kubiak is and where his coaching roots lie. The quarterback draw in critical situations became a staple play call for Kubiak during the Elway era, but the question was "could this work here?"
Not having the fortitude of being party to the play call in the Texan's huddle, but being a former Bronco-Elway fan, my guess was the old Elway draw in this situation, if the read was there. As Schaub lined up behind center and stood ready for the snap, the only thing I focused on was Schaub and what he was seeing. With the spread formation, receivers split wide, the defensive backfield opened up faster than the parting of the red sea. With the snap, Schaub only had to find a seam, hit the hole and make his way to pay dirt. TOUCHDOWN!! The Texans came back to regain the lead, and the legacy of Elway was relived once again on Sunday through the play calling of HC Kubiak and legs of Schaub!
Check back every Monday for more Monday Morning Huddle!
No comments:
Post a Comment